When Greco was walking through the streets, he could feel the gazes on him from the surrounding buildings. Occasionally there would be pedestrians in strange clothes in the streets, but when he saw him from a distance, he took the initiative to hide in the buildings on both sides. Building, as if he were some terrifying monster.
Therefore, the only living things that Greg could clearly see here were the various "creatures" lying on the side of the road. He saw several different unknown creatures, which had only a few similarities with the animals that Greg was familiar with, and all of their bodies All have a high degree of mechanical modification.
His ability to control metal theoretically gave him an advantage when facing them, but considering the strength of those black brains and the huge size of these mechanical creatures, Greco doubted whether he could really survive in front of them.
But this also reminded him of something.
Although it can't be seen, Mira, who looks like a beautiful human woman, probably has a lot of metal modifications on her body, just like her father whose whole body has been replaced by mechanical structures.
When he was in that town, he also saw creatures with mechanical structures on their bodies.
And there are the corpses of two different humanoid creatures there, one of which is a robot composed entirely of mechanical structures, and the other is a "human" whose body is highly mechanized. Mira and other residents here seem to be the latter.
Although the robots lying in the town look a lot like humans at first glance, they are not specifically made to look like the real ones - it seems that the purpose of the people who made them is not to be anthropomorphic.
With a simple touch, he could feel that they were made of a completely different material than skin, otherwise he would not have noticed the difference so quickly.
Although Mira was driving a mechanical armor when she appeared, she should still retain a lot of flesh and blood on her body. This is completely different from her father. Greco suspected that this was because the latter wanted to delay her. of aging.
Most of the dead in that town were not very mechanized either.
Mira led him to a building about twenty meters high. Gretel did not tell the difference between the building in front of him and other buildings, but he could still vaguely feel its uniqueness.
As Mira looked over, the main door automatically moved to both sides.
Antom, a middle-aged man who had already put on his skin, was waiting for them. He looked at Greg with a peaceful expression and a kind smile on his face:
"You've seen our town. How does it compare with the city you lived in before?"
Greg replied honestly:
"I think there are things here that I can't understand, but in fact, the world I lived in before was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. If you ask me, here and that are just two cities with their own characteristics."
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Antom smiled and said:
"Our town here is just an ordinary rural place. There is nothing new that has been developed recently. If there is a chance, I can take you to the big city to see it. There are still many ancient creations left there that are incredible to me. .
"But it seems that a few decades ago, there was still a clear gap between your city and here. You were making rapid progress."
Greco agreed:
"That's right, the changes in the past few decades are likely to catch up with those in the past hundreds of years."
Antom shook his head when he heard this:
"Don't you think this is weird?
“I came into contact with outsiders when I was young, and the speed of technological development they mentioned was quite weird in my eyes.
"Especially because you no longer use technologies whose principles are not yet clear to the public. You only disclose those completely controllable theories, hiding magic, mental skills, and magical skills behind the scenes. Don't you know that using them can affect you?" What amazing changes have been made to the existing life?
"Actually, if you think carefully, you will realize that the development of many technologies does not conform to the laws of production. In fact, some of you smart people may have noticed this, and they may even deduce the reasons - you are not entirely In developing technology.
"Many times you are picking up what you have lost. In the era when our ancestors appeared, many of the technologies you are using now have been eliminated for many years. The electrical age is a distant past, and the things you once mastered are completely beyond your reach. imagination.
"But it is a pity that those ancient technologies were completely torn into pieces in the ancient wars. You only picked up the smallest fragments, and the more were left on the land where you stand today. "
Greco looked at Antom expectantly, not hiding his desire for the truth:
"What does it mean?"
Antom also answered his questions:
"You must have heard of gods, right?"
He nodded:
"Gods of the Southern Confederacy, I live on the land where they stand."
Antom asked without leaving a trace:
"Is the Confederacy ruled by gods?"
Greg shook his head quickly and said:
"Of course not, it is under the control of the federal government. The gods of the Southern Federation have their own people. I have heard of some very powerful sons of the gods, but they are far from being able to challenge the federation.
"However, they do have considerable power in the Southern Federation, because many humans who hold secular and abnormal powers are their followers, but this is limited to this land, and the gods do not have any excessive behavior. "
Antom was quite satisfied with his answer:
"In other words, can the current Federation and other abnormal forces still restrain them?"
Greg nodded:
"That's right. Is there something wrong with them?"
Antom raised his hand and patted his shoulder and said:
"I just said that a long time ago, you humans had a technological level that far exceeded today's. At that time, various disciplines reached a very prosperous era. Many of the things mentioned in their ancient books are like miracles in our eyes today, such as the existence of In our ancient mythology...
"Creating an intelligent race."
Greg blinked, already somewhat anticipating what the other party was going to say.
Antom did not get to the point immediately:
"Your ancestors called me and my kind the Titans of Flesh.
“The word Titan means one who challenges the gods, and this is the truth about your technological regression today.
"By the way, have you been to Lixiang Town?"
Greg asked:
"That town with a lot of corpses?"
Antom nodded and said:
"Some of the dead there are our compatriots, and some are mechanical titans who share the same fate as us.
"Humans in the past had a war with the gods who are now trapped in the Southern Federation, and we and them were born at that time.
"You created us and the Mechanical Titan based on yourselves. Although there are many subtle differences between us and you, we all have a mental model that is highly consistent with yours.
"You may not be able to imagine how much those metal creatures look like you.
"And there is only one decisive difference between you and us.
"That means we won't be parasitized by the gods."
Greg still can't understand:
"You won't be parasitized?"
Antom raised the corners of his mouth slightly:
"As I said, the gods are horrible creatures that exist in the minds of all humans.
"So as long as there are people alive, they cannot die. Every living human being is their source of power. There are also some special individuals among the gods who can easily invade the minds of mortals, which troubled the humans at that time.
"They need a powerful army to fight the gods, but if they use human soldiers, there will be many problems. The lowest warriors do not have the ability to fight the gods, and they cannot fight the fear in their minds.
"So humans created us and the mechanical Titans, and tilted us to the front line like dumping garbage, to participate in this great and sacred war as biological and mechanical weapons, to fight against the slaves who surrendered to the terrifying gods.
"How evil those gods are, they actually enslave innocent creatures to fight their enemies."
A hint of mockery appeared on Antom's face:
"Just like you humans."
The expression on his face did not stay long, and immediately returned to the peace he had just before:
"In the earliest days, we and the Mechanical Titans were your slaves. We were instilled by you with the instructions to fight the gods. We were continuously produced like domestic animals. Then we left the petri dish with the equipment and ran to the front line of the war. Our short lives.”
“But I can also understand what you’re doing.
"Actually, your enslavement of us stems from a simple misunderstanding.
"Your ancestors think that we are not life. The reason why we and the Mechanical Titans are not afraid of the gods is that neither we nor they have souls."
Greg looked at him in shock:
"What?"
Antom raised his hand to indicate that he shouldn't be so surprised:
"The ancient humans called us Flesh Titans because we are made purely of flesh and blood. The scientists among you know very well that the so-called exchange of materials and information within cells can make a body move.
“Electrical signals and chemical transmitters can themselves form an idea.
"The consciousness of the mechanical titan is also a signal change within several chips. The information technology experts among you have created a set of intelligent algorithms that can perfectly simulate the activities of human consciousness, so that they can respond to external stimuli in the same way as you.
“Even if we are just a basic mass of matter that follows a certain pattern, we will still smile and cry.
"This is the greatest thing your ancestors have ever done - creating two intelligent races that are not afraid of the gods."
Antom said:
"Are you saying that you guys standing in front of me have no soul or spiritual level at all?"
Antom nodded proudly:
“Yes, we don’t have your flaws.
“Because there is no soul, the gods cannot have any interaction with our brains, which are purely information, so we have isolated them in the spiritual dimension.
"After several times of resistance and communication, your ancestors also realized that we are living creatures. We have reached a covenant and terms. We will still participate in this war to repay your kindness of creation, but we must respect us. due rights.
“In such a situation, some of you wise men immediately thought of one thing.
"In fact, in a sense, we are your descendants and your continuation. At the same time...
"We are you, but without our souls.
"At that time, the direction of our war with the gods was not yet clear, and the fear of failure pervaded all mankind. A great wise man came up with an idea that could defeat the gods.
"We and the mechanical Titans are actually basically similar to you at the level of consciousness, so the wise man thinks that we can actually be considered human beings. He proposed to transform all humans into flesh and blood or mechanical titans through biochemical transformation or data transmission.
"As long as there are no human beings with souls, the gods will cease to exist."
Greg swallowed:
"This plan didn't go smoothly, did it?"
Antom smiled and said:
"Of course, otherwise why would you still stand in front of me.
"The opponents among you feel that although we are living creatures, we are no longer the same species as you. They feel that in addition to memories and the particles that carry them, the existence of souls is also an indispensable proof that you are alive.
"The fear of death put this plan on hold, and the outcome is obvious - your cowardice allowed the gods to survive."
Gleick disagreed:
"Although I don't know what a soul is, I believe that my ancestors were not stupid."
Antom said noncommittally:
"Maybe."
"I didn't say it was a fault, but the fact is that the gods still exist, and these creatures that are far more evil and terrifying than your ancestors are still eyeing the entire world and may come back at any time.
"And your compatriots are the bodies they are inhabiting."
Greg said cautiously:
"Maybe I should take this news back and let my people continue to fight against the gods?"
Antom showed a meaningful smile:
"No, no need.
"I don't think you can defeat the gods. If the gods today are as weak as being starved for thousands of years, then you and your ancestors are like babies and adults.
"You have no chance of winning. It's only a matter of time before the gods win."
The premise is that only humans enter this war.
Antom paused and said:
"Now that you know our origins and the truth about the gods, you should be able to understand my somewhat excessive request.
"First of all, I want to know the situation in the outside world through you and let you survive, but you will never be able to return to your original world in this life. We cannot let our situation be exposed to the gods of the Southern Federation.
"Secondly..."
His eyes had an inexplicable color:
"You have to erase your flaws in order to be qualified to survive here."
Greg looked terrified:
"What's the flaw you're talking about?"
Antom replied:
"You have to become our compatriots. My purpose here is to protect this tower and the Titan weapons in it, including a soul-removing machine that can transform you into new humans."
Greg shook his head repeatedly:
"How can I be considered alive if all I have left are moving cells and particles?"
Antom looked at him and said:
"Look at me, your soul is not a necessary condition for you to live as a human being. There is only a slight difference between your body and me.
"Don't you think I'm a living creature? Don't your flesh-and-blood brain have its own will at this moment? No, it's just that the design of your body is flawed and requires an organ called a soul to provide nutrients for survival.
"We are the same."
